Jackie has loved JFK

John F. Kennedy was born 90 year ago, on May 29, 1917.

Questions:

1. How would you describe the influence of Jacqueline Kennedy on her husband and on US society?

2. Was JFK really such a womanizer and what were the reactions of his wife to his affairs?

3. Which marriage was a happier one for her? With JFK, or with Aristotle Onassis.

Answers:

Myra Gutin, Professor of Communication, Rider v University, Author of the book – The President’s Partner: The First Lady in the Twentieth Century

1. Jacqueline Kennedy only influenced American society in terms of fashion and culture. She was an attractive, stylish woman who had a penchant for international designers. She wore their clothing and introduced many American women to the world of haute couture. Because of her interest in culture, Mrs. Kennedy was a great friend to the arts community. She had an interest in music, dance, theater and the visual arts. She founded the White House Concerts for Young People. Her influence on John Kennedy is harder to assess. When he was running for re-election to the US Senate from Massachusetts and to a lesser extent when he was running for President (she was pregnant during the latter stages of the presidential campaign), she critiqued his speeches. When Kennedy became president she advised him to have fewer press conferences rather than more; she had a good sense of public relations and realized that he could cultivate his popularity by appearing less. This would create greater “buzz” when he did in fact appear. While Kennedy solicited her opinion on a number of topics, there’s no proof that she influenced his opinions in domestic or foreign affairs. He was greatly impressed by the work she did refurbishing the White House.

2. Everything is speculation. Supposedly the president was most notably involved with actress Marilyn Monroe and a woman named Judith Exner. There has been some corroboration of these relationships, but I always treat information of this type carefully. If Kennedy was involved with these women, the affairs had no discernible effect on his decision making. If Mrs. Kennedy was aware of her husband’s wandering eye, she publicly ignored his affairs. Even after he died, she never commented on this part of her life.

3. I have no idea, and she never discussed this. I would only point out that she is buried beside John F. Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetary.

Gil Troy, Professor of History, McGill University

1. Jackie Kennedy was a powerful role model for Americans as they learned to spend money. World War II ushered in the largest mass middle class society in world history. JFK originally feared his wife was too aristocratic to be popular — he said she had too much status and not enough quo — in fact, American women were thrilled by her youth, her grace, her looks — and her shopping sprees. Jackie Kennedy helped JFK inject an element of glamour into the White House, which was essential in making the presidency even more powerful and more central, in America’s emerging media-focused political system.

2. Best evidence suggests that JFK was indeed a compulsive philanderer and that Jackie knew about it — her father had been quite the rogue and she seemed to accept the situation, more or less, as what men did. But there were stories that eventually trickled out, about her sarcastic asides and anger, that seemed to be fueled by the adultery. She actually behaved pretty petulantly throughout the White House years, and there seemed to have been a great deal of tension in the marriage – sadly, in the summer of 1963, Jackie Kennedy gave birth to a son who died within days — this seemed to bring the couple together — only months before JFK’s tragic death. Jackie’s role during the assassination and funeral solidified the JFK myth and buried a lot of her anger behind the façade of martyred widowhood.

3. It is hard to say, but it seems pretty clear that the first marriage had its tensions, the second marriage was a misery — I think she genuinely loved JFK and they had their nice moments, the Onassis alliance seemed more of an arrangement and far more full of tension…

Catherine Allgor, Professor of History, University of California Riverside

I will say this–the most important role of the First Lady is as a conveyer of psychological and emotional messages.  This function is crucial to the modern nation-state, which, as Benedict Anderson has demonstrated, depends on the ability of the citizens to imagine themselves a community.

To do so, the woman (and someday soon, the man) must have a talent for being larger than life.  JBK was great at this–she passed on messages of optimism and hope with her manners and way she treated people.  She personified ideas larger than herself about the U.S.’s role on the national stage and about the “natural aristocracy” of educated Americans.  The job of the FL is to make Americans feel that they are being well and properly ruled.  That’s what JBK did.